Sarah Rose Driving

Children in Malawi start driving at a much earlier age than in America. Here is a video clip of Sarah Rose and her first lesson. Enjoy.





P.S. Moms don't worry. This was on campus and sitting in Sam's lap. He was really doing the steering.

Girls' classmates

This is Amber Elizabeth’s class (I will teach them next year). Her teacher is Charisa Chinchen. She is a granddaughter of Jack and Nell.

Front row: Janelle Dehnert (America, they live right next door to us), Sarah Young (New Zealand), Clare Barr (Malawi), Yair Bisnawaty (South Africa), Jessica Martinson (Ghana, I taught her older sister when we were here before), Maltida ? (Malawi), Towa ? (Malawi).

Second row: Breanna Harthoorn (America), AE, Kelly Grace Boersma (America, they live in the house we used to live in on campus), Tess Tricks (England), Delmar Kyzar (America), Samantha Trindale (Malawi), Amy Phillips (Zimbabwe), Sugna (India).

Last row: Tony (Malawi), Mpatso (Malawi), Duma ? (Malawi), Seth Goncalves (South Africa, son of MG’s teacher), Ghanah (American/Malawi), Malyeta (Malawi), Charisa.

This is Molly Grace’s class. Her teacher is Gail Goncalves and she is from South Africa.

Front row: Janice Harmse (South Africa), Roberto ?, Cameron Macpherson (Malawi), Nadya ? (Russia), MG, Walter Tricks (England), Michael Young (New Zealand), Charo ? (Malawi).

Second row: Tawonga ? (Malawi), Jackson Boersma (America), Dumisani ? (Malawi), Renear ? (South Africa), Mwanda Kamwendo (Malawi/America), Daniel ? (Zimbabwe), Ryan Saywood (Zimbabwe), Maziko ? (Malawi).

Third row: Mrs. Goncalves, Levi Chinchen (America), Thembi Jonat (Canada), Karis Jonat (Canada), Aya Diab (Lebanon), Zachary ? (Zimbabwe), Gabriella ? (Malawi), Emma ? (Malawi), Miss Grace (teaching assistant, Malawi)

These are the teachers I teach with. They are from America, Canada, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.

Critters and Such

I wanted to show you some pictures of some of the critters we see here in Malawi. Some are cute and some are not so cute. See for yourself.

This is Biri Wira (green in Chichewa). Our chameleon. A student of mine brought it to me for Christmas. I had told the whole class that chameleons are the only creatures I like and they could bring me one if they wanted to.

This is what Americans call a chop chop. I think it is also called a water spider. Anyway, it is ugly, scary, and fast. They are very aggressive. They have these claw things in front and will run after you.

This is some kind of beetle. It is about 2 inches long. A gardener on campus said that they will attach to you skin and if you try and get it off, it will pull you skin off.

This is some type of grass hopper on our screen. Harmless (I think), but BIG.

This is a bird that the gardener next door found. It had duct tape on its wings so couldn’t fly. Molly Grace was able to hold it for a few minutes before it was able to fly away.

This is Amber Elizabeth with her hedgehog, Spike. We eventually had to let it go.

This was Molly Grace’s hedgehog, Spine. We also had to let it go.













Well, these are just a few creatures we see here in Malawi. We also see geckos, snakes, snails (big ones), other spiders, all different kinds of grasshoppers and beetles, centipedes and millipedes, ngumbi (flying termites), and ants (a lot of them from small to big, flying to non-flying). If I get pictures of other things, I will post them.

With Love,
LeAnne

Krisi Masi Ya Bwino

It’s been a while since I have put anything on the blog. Sorry about that. I have been so overwhelmed with life here in Malawi. But, we are finally out for Christmas break until January 16. A very much needed break!

The last week of school my class was working really hard on learning lines for a skit for the Christmas program and learning to say Merry Christmas in Arabic (Millad Said) and Dutch (Vrolik Kerstfeest).

We are planning to do a little traveling during the break. Last week we went to Zomba with Paul and Laura Chinchen and their family for a few days. We were able to visit Zomba when we were here before. I have to say it is one of my favorite places in Malawi. Here are a few pictures.



This is a market on the way to Zomba. Busy, busy, busy.



This is just another clip going through the market. They sell anything from food items to mops to live animals.



The girls at the top of the mountain.



Sam with the girls in front of one of the waterfalls.



Sam with Sarah Rose at the last waterfall we went to. The water was freezing, but the girls enjoyed wading in it.



Amber Elizabeth in front of the last waterfall. It was such a beautiful sight.



This is what we had to walk through on the hike. We had a Malawian guide slashing the bush so we could walk. We all had such a wonderful time.

After the new year we will be going to Lake Malawi (the southern part) for a whole week. One of my student’s parents owns a cottage there that they rent out. It has a private beach, its own pool, a cook, a cleaner, AND TV with satellite. We are really excited about getting away for a while and just to be able to relax.

Krisi Masi Ya Bwino and Ife Konda Inu! (Merry Christmas and We Love You!
LeAnne (for all 5 of us)

Dr. Krabbendam at Kachere Prison

Dr. Krabbendam [see post below] asked if he could accompany my group of students on our ABC Thursday outreach to Kachere Prison. I told him it was full of boys ages 12 to 20 who’ve been incarcerated for all sorts of reasons. He said, “Let’s go.” As we entered the stone courtyard, the mood was especially noisy. I sensed distraction since most of the prisoners sitting in the same courtyard generally do their best to sway the attention of those attending. The boys were a little curious as this 6-foot-five Dutchman entered the area where we usually gather. One of our students translated his sermon, focused around our need for a new heart, a new record, and a new righteousness. Prisoners, he said, were always a little more open to the gospel. And the boys demonstrated. Dr. Krabbendam, in his presentation, had all the boys gather around him. He explained to them that God was not wanting to be accepted by them. They didn’t have that right seeing that they had unclean hearts, an unclean record, and a righteousness like that of the filthy toilet situated just behind us. I can only ask that you trust that allusion was more than vivid! “And now, if you really are filled with the Holy Spirit as you ask Him to come, this prison will not be the same. The guards will ask, ‘what happened?’ in there, you will gather for prayers and the reading of the word everyday, and when you leave here, you will never come back!” The young men, we feel having been prepared by our visits, were ripe for Dr. Krabbendam’s visit. We will begin discipling these young men, praying with them, asking other students to ‘adopt’ them, and caring for them through letters and packages. Just pray for them, please. Pray that the ministry brought to them by this kind man will be fruitful in their lives and productive for the Kingdom. Blessings.
Sam